House Hoare
House Hoare of Orkmont is one of the Great Houses of Westeros and the house of the Kings of the Isles and the Rivers, who originally ruled over the Iron Islands, before conquering the Riverlands, now ruling the Kingdom of the Isles and the Rivers in the centre of Westeros. Their seat is thegreat castle of Harrenhal in the Riverlands, built by their current ruler, Harren the Black. The Hoare sigil shows two silver chains crossing between a golden longship on a field of black, a green pine on a field of white, a cluster of red grapes on a field of yellow, and a black raven on a field of blue. Their words are "With Chains of Iron" History House Hoare is one of the oldest houses of Westeros, being founded somewhere during the Age of Heroes and centuries before the Andal Invasion. In the days before the Invasion, several driftwood kings were chosen from House Hoare, until King Urron Greyiron ended the practice of the Kingsmoot, therefore laying the foundations of a hereditary monarchy. For a thousand years, House Hoare was sworn as a vassal of House Greyiron, until the Andal Invasion began. By taking advantage of the disunity among the Ironborn, Andal warlords and pirates entered an alliance with House Hoare, as well as the Houses Drumm, Orkwood and Greyjoy to bring down King Rognar Greyiron, the last of his line. After Rognar's death, legend has it that the lords of the Iron Islands played the finger dance to determine their next king. Harras Hoare won, though he lost two fingers in the process and ruled as Harras Stump-hand ever since. The Maesters of the Citadel tell a different version, in which Harras came into power through his marriage to the daughter of a powerful Andal warlord. Under Harras and his descendants, the Iron Islands opened towards the customs of the Greenlanders. The kings of House Hoare took Andal wives, promoted trade, discouraged reaving and even allowed the Faith of the Seven onto the islands, which caused the Drowned Priests to condemn the house as having an "Andal taint" and being "black of hair, black of eye and black of heart". Many centuries later, a Hoare king finally started to expand the kingdom again, after his predecessors had started to loose much of their prior possessions. King Harwyn Hoare, known as Hardhand, took the Riverlands from the Storm King Arrec Durrandon, where he successfully played the Riverlords against each other to take control over the entire region, founding the Kingdom of the Isles and the Rivers. His son Halleck, who unsuccessfully waged war against the houses Lannister, Gardener and Arryn, ruled from a humble house in the city of Fairmarket and was the first King of the Iron Islands not to rule from the Seastone Chair. His son and successor Harren, known as Harren the Black, wasn't satisfied with ruling from such a small seat, so he ordered the construction of the greatest castle the world had ever seen. This castle, Harrenhal, was to be built at the shores of the Gods Eye, in the centre of the Riverlands. Recent History The building of Harrenhal took over forty years and bled the kingdom dry. The Riverlords and Harren's captains had to pay for it, with gold, building material, tools and workers. Soon, Harren faced opposition from both sides and was forced to rule through fear to uphold his reign, becoming a dreaded tyrant in the process. With four sons, all from different wives, Harren's reign was seen as secure though and he never even thought about stopping the construction of his lifework. Slowly, but steadily, the giant castle neared its completion. Shortly before the War of Conquest, hatred against the tyrant moved the powerful Riverlord Edmyn Tully to form an unlikely alliance with the Ironborn captain Torvin Breaker. Together, they developed a plan to take down Harren for good. Even though this plan ultimately failed, Harren was heavily wounded in the process, showing his subjects without a doubt that he can be killed. And even though Harren managed to defeat his opponents Torvin and Edmyn, he was ultimately left in a dangerously weak position, with enemies all around him, including his own Captain of the Iron Fleet, Damon Greyjoy. Known Members *King {Harras Hoare}, known as Harras Stump-hand, who took the throne after the extinction of House Greyiron *King {Harwyn Hoare}, known as Harwyn Hardhand, who founded the Kingdom of the Isles and the Rivers **his son, King {Halleck Hoare} ***his firstborn son, King Harren Hoare, known as '' Black Harren'', current King of the Isles and the Rivers ****his firstborn son and heir, Prince Harmund Hoare, known as Harmund the Hunter ****his secondborn son, Prince Harlan Hoare ****his thirdborn son, Prince Harndon Hoare ****his fourthborn and youngest son, Prince Harrick Hoare ***his secondborn son, Lord Commander Harrigon Hoare, 971th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch Retainers From the Iron Islands: *Lord Vickon Greyjoy, Lord of Pyke *his brother, Captain Damon Greyjoy, Lord Captain of the Iron Fleet, Captain of the Silentwind, known as the Ghost of Pyke *his sister, Captain Kyra Greyjoy, captain of the guard of Harrenhal, known as the Laughing Kraken *Lord Clint Volmark, Lord of Volmark, Captain of the Rogue Wave, known as Cleaver Clint *Captain Durren Stallhart, Captain of the Sheepsbane *Captain Alynne Hollard, formerly a member of House Hollard *Captain Simon Vessels, Captain of the Red Iron **his son, Rell Vessels *Lord Reymand Orkwood, Lord of Orkwood, known as Reymand the Drunk *Captain Dorran Blacktyde, Captain of the Midnight *his sister, Alerah Blacktyde *Captain Torvin Breaker, Captain of the Behemoth *his brother and first mate, Garthon Breaker *Hjalgar Holgarsson, hunter and member of Torvin Breaker's crew *Wilbur, raider, currently sworn to Edward Anturion From the Riverlands: *Lord Edmyn Tully, Lord of Riverrun **his daughter, Dayna Tully *Lord Brandon Frey, Lord of the Crossing, known as Bloody Brandon **his thirdborn son, Adrew Frey, Harren Hoare's squire *Lord Tytos Bracken, Lord of Stone Hedge *Lord Petyr Blackwood, Lord of Raventree Hall *Lord Arrec Mallister, Lord of Seagard *Ser Rickard Fowler, knight in service of House Bracken *Tedyn Bullister, last of House Bullister, Harrenhals executioner *Holt Torv, head torturer of Harrenhals dungeons Category:Houses Category:Great Houses Category:Houses from the Iron Islands Category:House Hoare Category:Harrenhal